I just got off to the phone, talking to my baby sister in PA/DE (she lives in PA about 4-5 miles from the DE state line and works in DE) They have 27 inches from the weekend blizzard and just got another 14 or so yesterday!

She expects to be home from work, she works at a nearby college, for the rest of the week. This got me thinking about Small Businesses and how they are affected by the local (geographical) weather.

Does YOUR small business have a WEATHER POLICY?

• Is it CLEARLY stated on your website?
   
• Can it be easily found? In other words, is there a clearly marked, direct link somewhere on all of the major pages of the site?
   
• If it is tied to a local policy, such as that you close if the local school system closes, have you provided a LINK to an online resource that would provide that information — such as the local school system website or the weather emergency listing for a local TV station?
   
• Have you CLEARLY identified WHAT School System you are referring to? Remember, with the internet you need to think GLOBALLY. Can an out of town visitor, trapped in your area because the airports are closed, easily figure out whether you will be open or closed?

I know that in my niche of Needlework, stitchers crawl out of the woodwork in bad weather to get to my local needlework shop, for fear that they will be trapped without a stitching project to work on.

I can easily imagine a stitcher in a local hotel, waiting for airport traffic to resume, making the effort to get to Meredith's (my LNS) to buy a new project, because she didn't bring one with her OR she finished it OR she can work on it for some reason.

I am sure that many small offline businesses might have similar scenarios…

So, does YOUR small business have a WEATHER POLICY? Even if you aren't in an area that has snow, I am sure that you are affected by the weather or other events in some way, and having a policy in place is just good planning!

We all know that running an off-line business takes an incredible amount of time, and I'm sure that you've realized by now that the Internet offers a myriad of ways to promote your off-line business. The question becomes, which of these online promotional opportunities makes the most sense for an offline business?

I firmly believe that Twitter is one of those online marketing opportunities that you NEED to make time for! While creating and running a Twitter marketing plan does take thought and effort, there are many tools and methods available to make it easier to accomplish your Twitter tasks… and as it stands now, Twitter has the potential to become an extremely important part of YOUR online marketing puzzle.

Why Twitter? you may ask. Because of the way Twitter works — people CHOOSE to follow you — TWITTER is 100% Permission Marketing!

Now, often when I explain all of this to busy offline business owners, like yourself, they look at me with bafflement and ask

    *Don't these people have LIVES?*

    *Why would anybody want to do this?*
   
    *I don't have time for this!*, they wail!

My answer is simple… *You are not your customer!*

WHY do you market?

The point of MARKETING is to reach your targeted audience with your message.

Twitter provides a powerful method to accomplish this effectively AND efficiently.

For a plethora of OFFLINE Twitter marketing techniques, check out my new Survival Guide – Twitter for Offline Businesses.

http://surviveandconqueronline.com/TwitterForOfflineBusinesses.htm

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink

In September, Google rolled out a new Application which has the potential to change the face of the internet. (And no, I don't say this lightly!)

Google touts this breakthrough in the following terms:

         Publish helpful information
        about any web page right in your browser

         Read insights in context
        from Sidewiki entries added by others

         Share Sidewiki entries through
        Blogger, Facebook, Twitter and Google profiles

http://www.google.com/sidewiki/intl/en/index.html

Ignoring the copyright issues (of which there are MANY) this means that

             ANYONE who is registered to do so can LEAVE COMMENTS on ANY page of your web site.

             ANYONE with the Google Toolbar installed can READ THOSE COMMENTS

             YOU HAVE NO RECOURSE (at this time) to have those comments removed!

This is an important and potentially damaging issue for ALL web site owners.

This Special Report explains the problem as it currently stands and explains what EVERY web site owner needs to do right now to protect against the potential harm it can cause!

Because the Google Sidewiki is so new (it was implemented in September 2009) I am expecting it to undergo many changes. Be sure to sign up for the Update List, so you can keep track of this potentially damaging issue!

To here get the Special Report – Google Sidewiki Dangers! What to do if YOUR Site is hit with Google Graphitti.

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink

Here in the needlework and quilting industries, most of us have a tremendous advantage over the rest of the world… our businesses are personality based…

For retailers, this is true on several different levels. One of the most powerful of these is the fact that many of your customers have secret fantasies about owning a *cute little shop*. Do they want to know the brutal realities involved? No! And you know what… that’s OK…

The mere fact that they occasionally flirt with the idea offers you an incredibly effective, versatile, and subtle marketing strategy.

This is just one of the topics that will be discussed — in depth — in the upcoming webinar – How to Wow!

Even more exciting, the webinar format offers you the opportunity to participate by typing in your questions!

Here are more details on the How to Wow! Webinar.

Sharing the road to success!

Tink
 

Considered individually, Online Search, Internet Search Engines, and Web Site Statistics are extremely important topics for anyone who is trying to understand the Internet and to profit from an Internet business.

When you look at them as part of a puzzle affecting YOUR Internet business, they become even more SIGNIFICANT!

Amazingly enough, even though they are vital topics in any context, there is very little information available about them, either online or offline! There are an number of factors contributing to this:

• Search Engines and their guiding algorithms (searching methods and criteria) are closely guided secrets
• Search Engines and their algorithms (especially Google) are changed often
• Online Search is an ongoing battleground  between the Search Engine companies and online cheaters (called Black Hats) who are attempting to profit by twisting the system
• Interpreting Statistics is an extremely complicated and, dare I say , esoteric endeavor (My Dad worked in Statistics his entire career and used to say that a good statistician could make data say whatever he wanted it to say… pretty scary, huh?)
• The web changes quickly, with little warning and NO oversight!
• No one knows your business better than YOU do

For instance, a good accountant could look at your company’s financial records and attempt to interpret them… but unless that person knows that there was a broken water main in front of your building and all traffic was blocked for two weeks, a dramatic sales drop could be EASILY mis-interpreted

Deciphering your web site statistics demands the same need for detailed and intimate knowledge. Recently revamped site navigation may be reflected in your web site statistics and traffic patterns, but only be apparent to someone who knew exactly when it happened

There are NO clear cut RIGHT answers! Understanding Online Search, Internet Search Engines, and Web Site Statistics is a combination of number crunching, careful tracking, creative interpretation, detailed inside knowledge, and a bit of magic! *VeryBigGrin*

Take a moment to consider your Offline Business…

Please answer the following questions:

• How many customers visited your Offline business last week?
• How did they find out about your business?
• How long did they stay?
• Were they returning customers?
• What model of vehicle did they arrive in?

Now, believe it or not, Online Search, Internet Search Engines, and Web Site Statistics, ALL working together, will answer those questions, and more, about your Online visitors. Just substitute *Operating System* and *Web Browser* for the car questions! *smile*

This is WHY it is important that YOU — the business owner — learn and track your company’s Web Site Statistics and keep up to date with the Search Engines and their antics. 

Fortunately, there are a couple of options, if you want to learn more about Web Site Statistics…    even if you don’t even know WHERE to look at them! <grin>

If you have the time, I will be presenting a Webinar on Search, Search Engines, and Web Site Statistics on September 17, 2009. 

I have also written a Survival Guide on the subject of Web Site Statistics.      

Both of these resources are useful for newbies — because I explain things in plain English…

They are also suitable for more experienced web folks, because I share actual statistics from one of my web sites!     

I hope that you will take advantage of these valuable resources.

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink